Summary
 Highlights of this course
SNIA Storage Management & Administration, with virtual lab is a comprehensive, vendor neutral, study and practice in the tasks and job of the professional storage administrator. Managing storage is not just about knowing vendor specific hardware; it is a serious process. After working with a variety of products, one realizes that there is an intrinsic commonality in the midst of vendor variants. A true professional is unafraid of the variants and can be flexible in the midst of the rigid perfection required by the storage infrastructure. Join us to:
• Learn best practices for managing storage, storage networks and hosts
• Practice the day-to-day tasks of managing information in a variety of storage infrastructures
• Discover structured techniques and parameters used to deploy, operate, and troubleshoot components
Overview
This instructor-facilitated lab course provides the skills and knowledge needed to configure and use storage and storage networks in a multi-vendor infrastructure. By multi-vendor, we mean that you will configure storage using a variety of storage arrays, switches, protocols and operating systems. The course provides the unique knowledge that experienced storage professionals expect from their peers, while providing practical, task-oriented procedures to implement and operate storage and storage networks using a vendor neutral approach.
Hands-on lab activities provide learners with the opportunity to configure storage solutions, first as a series of atomic tasks, and then from end-to-end, in contexts of the big picture and information lifecycle. Students perform tasks using both graphical and command line utilities. Step-by-step procedures guide students, at the level of their personal capabilities, to implement multiple vendor storage environments, because no customer is typical.
Duration
5-days, Instructor-Led
Audience
Everyone responsible for storage service delivery and support for new and existing storage products and services; this typically includes both new and experienced development, administration, implementation, delivery, support and management staff. Staff members required to complete the internationally recognized SNIA S10-101 Storage Network Foundations and SNIA S10-200 Storage Networking Management and Administration examination will find this course essential.
• Sales
• Pre-Sales
• Architect
• Implementation and Support
• Storage Manager
• SAN Manager
Prerequisites
• Course SNIA Storage Network Foundations and/or equivalent experience
• Completion of prerequisite study material
• A basic level of IT literacy including at least six (6) months experience in IT and/or Storage Networking Operations.
• Advanced computer skills and knowledge in at least one operating system, including non-graphical movement through system file structure, command line and text editors, including vi(1)
• Technical skills as a team member to develop complex solutions.
• Both a non-disclosure agreement and license agreement are required.
• Basic networking fundamentals
Course Objectives
Upon completion of the course, the learner should be able to:
• Perform day-to-day management and administration tasks within the storage service lifecycle; these include plan , deploy, operate and manage obsolescence of storage infrastructure
• Allocate Storage from end-to-end, where end-to-end means: at the array, through the fabric, presenting to the host, and making it usable at the host
• Work within multi-vendor, product and protocol storage environments, for example: arrays, protocols, fabrics, host operating systems, hypervisors and recovery scenarios
• Discover and bring basic control to a SAN environment
• Manage and troubleshoot storage arrays, storage area networks and NAS infrastructure
• Apply basic performance management principles to hosts, fabrics and storing devices
• Perform backup and recovery activities from single file to bare metal
• Provide basic security for storage infrastructure
• Perform data migration, replication and transfer
• Identify methods of implementing business continuance
• Understand basic archiving principles and their hardware/software relationships
Structure and Methodology
Structure
• Lecture follows exam objectives
• Overlay relevant portions of the Service Lifecycle (Plan, Deploy, Operate, Obsolete) on lecture
• Technical details support understanding of day-to-day tasks
• Practical end-to-end application
• Integrate with other technology
• Best Practices and Task Oriented Procedures
• Vendor Specifics, where appropriate
• Hands-on Virtual Lab
Methodology
• Lecture and Discussion (40%)
• Lab (60%)
• Test-prep (Independent Study)
Exam Objectives
At a high level, exam objectives appear identical between S10-101 Storage Network Foundations, CompTIA Storage+ and S10-201/211 Storage Management and Administration. However, at a foundations level, we think in terms of definitions, concepts and components. In contrast, at the administration level, we think in terms of process and parameters.
The high-level exam objectives include:
• Explain and recognize basic Storage Networking Technology Components and Concepts
• Perform Storage Network Administration
• Manage Storage Networks
• Perform Storage Networking Backup and Recovery
• Implement Storage Networks (Deploy)
• Monitor Storage Networking Performance (Troubleshoot)
• Provide Storage Networking and Business Continuance
Detailed exam objectives are available at SNIA S10-201 Exam Blueprint
Certificate Advantages
• Certification insures that staff has a benchmarked level of knowledge and skill.
• Recruiting and retention are simplified.
• Possession of an internationally recognized competence certificate is a personal achievement that will help foster commitment and increase job satisfaction.
• A mandatory requirement for some organizations. Customers of IT Storage Services are demanding that their suppliers have a 'license to operate'.
• More than 400 professionals now hold the combined qualification.
Course Contents
Lecture timings and lab tasks shown vary according to the interests of the participants and hardware availability. Each module includes quiz items useful in session for checking knowledge. Course content includes all subjects; however, subject delivery is at the discretion of the instructor and class participants, adjusted to the needs of and best order for the students. Some course content is beyond the requirements of today’s certification programs. Virtual lab hardware may vary.
Modules
Overview of Storage Networking Management and Administration
The overview introduces the course, discusses practical problems of working within the context of storage accommodation (electrical power, cooling, space, weight), safety issues, and doing tasks in a change-controlled environment. For context, we consider the storage industry’s current state and trends.
• Course Introduction
• Data Center Knowledge and Skills
• Practice, Process and Task Structure under Change Control
• Storage Dynamics (optional)
Essential Technology Review (Pre-requisite)
Reviewing essential technology is a short form restatement of topics included in storage foundations with an emphasis on introducing process and parameters rather than components, concepts and definitions. Thirty-five percent of the topics in this module are new to encourage your attention.
• Network Review
• Storage
• SCSI
• Adapters
• Fibre Channel
• SATA/SAS
• iSCSI
Storage Administration
We often use the words administer and manage interchangeably or in the hierarchical sense of managing people. In the course, we use the term administer for the special knowledge or experience and process used to plan day-to-day tasks of a management event. Events in this module include add, move and change to existing storage infrastructure. After receipt of a request, the administrative process begins with discovery, fit to a structure that results in a plan of action to meet the requirement, proofed by fact and guided by risk.
• Administrative Process
• Application Requirements
• Initiators (hosts)
• Storage Array Considerations
• SAN Considerations, by type (Fibre Channel, iSCSI, SAS, FCoE)
• NAS Considerations
• Recovery Considerations
Storage Management
When we manage a storage event, we control deployment of a planned change to an existing storage infrastructure using a repeatable process and predetermined parameters, with an expectation that work will complete in a predictable time. Most requests begin with verification of an expected state, followed by execution from the storage network out to the nodes. For example, an “add storage to host” event may include tasks that change backup objects, and a recovery test. Events complete with verification of success, or on failure, rollback to the prior state.
• Management Process
• SAN Tasks, by type (Fibre Channel, iSCSI, SAS, FCoE)
• Array Tasks
• Host Tasks
• Recovery Tasks
• Troubleshooting deployment errors
Data Protection and Recovery
Protecting data is not just about RAID or backup and recovery, rather it is about the mindset of recognizing and mitigating the many risks to information. In this module, we consider basic tasks that mitigate known risks throughout the infrastructure. It is better to avoid the need for recovery; however, our clients or users need assurance that we can recover, if required, where the end defines the start.
• Security
• Planning for Recovery
• Technology
• Special Scenarios
Complex Implementation Events
When we upgrade code, place new, or change major components of storage infrastructure, we label these events complex. Complex events are often an opportunity to standardize infrastructure and cleanup old problems. However, because their risk domain is greater than day-to-day tasks, storage architects rather than administrators prepare the plans while project managers control the effort. In this module, we set expectations, discuss potential mitigations and focus on best practices for complex storage events. Complex events are unique; however, the best current practices remain repeatable.
• Complex Implementation Process
• Best Current Practices, Storage Array
• Best Current Practices, SAN
• Best Current Practices, NAS
• Best Current Practices, Backup & Recovery
• Day of Event
Monitor Performance
Business depends on the network and compute layer, and the compute layer depends on storage, and the storage on the network. It is the task of operations to monitor the storage infrastructure, identify problems, and resolve them. The nature of storage consumption, complex workloads, and network traffic flows demands appropriate instrumentation supported by good troubleshooting skills. In this module, we lay a foundation for maintaining availability, managing performance and deeper troubleshooting.
• Process
• Instrumentation
• I/O Tracing Concepts and Strategies
Business Continuance, Archive and Data Migration
Perhaps a better title for this module is niche topics important to the storage administrator. While the details of these topics are generally out-of-scope for the exam, they have significant affect on our activities; for example, estimates suggest that 50% of an administrator’s direct labor involves some form of data migration. Business continuance requires perfect execution, while archiving can reduce workload. In this module, we will identify the patterns of these services and discuss best practices at a basic level.
• Business Continuance
• Archive
• Data Migration
Learning Activities
• Multi-vendor Hands-on Virtual Lab
• Lecture
• Self-paced study (eLearn)
• Practice exam items
• Group discussion of current student storage problems and scenarios
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